Adrian Fedkiw
Another 12 minutes of glimpses.
Joel Embiid finished with five points on 2-of-6 shooting to go with 3 rebounds and a block, but the Philadelphia 76ers fell to the Washington Wizards 125-119 in double overtime on Thursday night.
Tuesday night’s preseason debut against the Boston Celtics was the 7-foot-2 Embiid’s first game action since March 1, 2014 when he was a freshman at Kansas. The No. 3 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, who also played 12 minutes in that one, had been sidelined the last two seasons due to a pair of surgeries on his right foot. Here were each of Embiid’s buckets Thursday , showing off his power down low against 11-year veteran Marcin Gortat, who is no slouch. The 2014 No. 3 overall pick also drew several fouls on his post touches.
Here’s both of Embiid’s baskets. He finished with 5 pts on 2-of-6 shooting to go with 3 rebounds and a block. He again saw 12 min of action. pic.twitter.com/91Cc3W0bAp
— Philly Influencer (@PHL_Influencer) October 7, 2016
Other than those two field goals, though, Embiid settled for jumpers and air-balled a pair of them. Playing in his first home game, the butterflies were evident early on. I want to see some more bully ball from him over the next few games.
Embiid’s 1st touch. He gets ball on left block before facing up and bricking J over Gortat. Don’t think we’ll see him miss this badly often. pic.twitter.com/teV3mijI1Z
— Philly Influencer (@PHL_Influencer) October 7, 2016
His defense was solid again. Using his length and athleticism, Embiid forced the Wizards to take tough shots over him and his volleyball background came into play on this emphatic block of Kelly Oubre Jr.
JoJo says NoNo pic.twitter.com/zOOGcbRESx
— Philly Influencer (@PHL_Influencer) October 7, 2016
As much promise as Embiid has showed, Dario Saric has been the Sixers’ best player through two games. He had 14 points Tuesday and is 4-of-6 beyond the arc so far. His high basketball IQ is showing. He finds the open spaces on the floor when he’s off the ball.
Saric with another 3, 4-of-6 from beyond the arc so far in the preseason pic.twitter.com/d1rafzT8K8
— Philly Influencer (@PHL_Influencer) October 7, 2016
Richaun Holmes posted 20 points and 12 rebounds. It was another impressive performance for the second-year Bowling Green product, who opened some eyes in the Summer League. Jerami Grant provided 17 points and five assists and Sergio Rodgriguez supplied five helpers as well. I love watching him pass the ball.
I love watching Sergio Rodriguez pass the basketball pic.twitter.com/SQy23z3WCX
— Philly Influencer (@PHL_Influencer) October 7, 2016
Hollis Thompson, who sent the game into a second extra session with a game-tying 3-pointer with 7.7 seconds left in the first overtime for a 110-110 tie, finished with 15 points.
This triple with 7.7 left in overtime from Thompson sent the game into a second OT pic.twitter.com/ieGIUCGOnn
— Philly Influencer (@PHL_Influencer) October 7, 2016
The Sixers’ next game is Saturday night at Cleveland.